Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by Stevedore:

750ml Backstage series bottle, vintage 2013, shared with a buddy in Russian River snifters today 4/24/2013.

Aroma: There's just something interesting about this that piques my interest. I definitely smell citrus- grapefruit, pineapple, orange zest at the beginning, plus some vanilla and oak which are presumably from the bourbon barrel. BUT, as it warms up, it all blends into something like peach, maybe even a little bit of apricot. Its hard to explain, but the smell starts out individually as the DIPA and the bourbon barrel contribution, but ends up blending into a peach sort of scent. I'm very surprised as I expected something like the first part only, something more separated but this comes together surprisingly well in a good way. (5)

Colour: Definitely a hazy dark amber body. But when I pour it, it starts out a really light, golden colour like a Belgian blonde, with tons of bubbles coming up and almost a minute later, it turns a very dark, hazy amber/copper body. I was transfixed by this particular transformation- never really saw a beer do that. Comes with a big fluffy 2cm white head that sticks around for more than a minute, and the lacing is pretty darn good. (4.25)

Flavour: Similar to the nose- the hops are very fresh and I get a good bit of citrus on its own when its chilled out the bottle. There's also some toffee and breadiness, which I imagine is from the Double Trouble contribution. And then there's a good bit of vanilla and oak, which I imagine is from the barrel. But I don't get a whole lot of actual bourbon. When it warms up, it starts tasting very similar to a White Oak Jai Alai- peachy and oakey. Very cool, balanced but nothing unique. Still a very enjoyable flavour set. (4)

Mouthfeel: Thinner side of medium body, great carbonation that leaves a good fizziness on the tongue after each swallow. The finish is dry and smooth yet refreshing. Its on the lighter side for a DIPA but isn't hard to drink- the heat is pretty well disguised or not there in the first place. Not difficult to drink for sure. (4)

Overall: Pretty cool beer. It took me back to when I drank the CCB White Oak Jai Alai that I bought back from the brewery- its really similar to that, but everything is a bit more intense. I wish there had been a little bit more bourbon to distinguish it, but overall it was a very interesting experience and I'm glad I picked up one bottle. That being said, I'm also glad I didn't go crazy and hunt down 5 bottles. I'll happily drink it again if offered but I won't necessarily pay the asking price to drink it again. (4)

More User Reviews:

Glad to get one of the few bottles that Roger has over at Bestway.Poured into an imperial nonic a...like others have notes a honey tinged lighter golden with a nicely formed half finger white head atop that left multiple broken rings of lace behind as it settled.Aromas were lighter than expected but some nice vanilla/bourbon and sweet fruity notes were there,the hops were somewhat subdued giving off light resiny notes.One thing I will say about the flavor profile is that the bourbon barrel is a major flavor component but it doesn't smack you in the face,all the flavors seem to be more subtle but still providing enough.The hops are more leafy and slightly citric,a good shot of peppery spice hits in the back end.Not in your face bourbon or alcohol in my opinion but neither are the hops,a very good beer with out big hops.

The (long-awaited) Doom, finally being bottled (previously known as "Hand of Doom" and only available at the Founders brewpub in Grand Rapids). I was a little less than thrilled to learn about this beer, simply because I'm not a huge fan of the flavor meshing between barrels and IPAs, but I'll never shun anything before trying it at least once. Plus, Double Trouble is amazing, so I owe it to myself to see how this one turned out. Picked up a bottle at my local shop, but thanks to Chris for offering to split his with me.

Doom pours a vibrant amber color with very, very nice clarity. It's capped with a thick and foamy white head - fine bubbled, vibrant, and bright. Retention is very nice and it leaves lots of webbed lacing on its decent down the glass. From the appearance, Doom actually reminds me a bit of Pliny the Elder. A very clean looking (albeit barrel-aged) double IPA. The clarity in this one is truly a remarkable thing.

I can't think of any better way to describe the aroma than to just say it's like stuffing your face directly into a pineapple. Super tropical aroma with a light bit of sugary sweetness. Surprisingly enough, I am picking up almost no bourbon at at all in the aroma. Hell, if it weren't for the very faint vanilla and wet oak hints, I would have no idea that this thing was barrel-aged. I know it only sat in barrels for four months, but I'm seriously picking up zero bourbon on the nose. Nevertheless, the tropical essence is still fantastic.

Holy shit, I don't get it... The nose contains almost no bourbon, but the first sip is loaded with it. Bourbon raids the tongue immediately - it's not really "hot" and doesn't come with a "burn", but the bourbon flavor is rampant on the palate right out of the gate. Needless to say, the fruitiness from the nose is much lower; the taste buds are also picking up some light oak, vanilla, and very faint pineapple. I can honestly say this is unlike any other beer I've ever had.

The hops are pretty much buried beneath all of this other stuff, but they do have a small, leafy and bitter presence at times. Some oaky warmth in the aftertaste with more bourbon flavors. As Doom warms up, the pineapple, tangerine, and mango notes actually get a bit stronger and it tastes a little better in my opinion, but I'm still not really digging the heavy booze flavors meshing with my Double Trouble. Medium-thick bodied, pretty slick on the palate and a little sticky at times; good carbonation for an IPA.

Well, this was weird. The smell was fantastic, it really was. I was more than let-down by the taste, however, as it tasted almost nothing like the smell. The bourbon flavors were coming through a bit too much and shadowing the beautiful tropical fruit notes. I know the bourbon was "supposed" to be heavy seeing as how this is a bourbon barrel-aged beer, but I don't know if I'm on board with this craze just yet. I think I'll stick to Double Trouble.

A: A medium amber with good clarity. The persistent head is off-white and mostly creamy.

S: This smells great almost Christmasy with a strong pine-like hops aroma while the oak is bringing cinnamon, oak and some vanilla to the nose. The hops bring plenty of citrus too just their first impression if more of pine. There is a moderate malt sweetness and a floral alcohol notes.

T: Complex hops, malt and oak dominate with an aggressive hops bitterness, a moderately-strong citrus, pine and herbaceous hops flavor and the oak again bringing a medium cinnamon and oak with some vanilla. There is a decent amount of malt backing up the hops and bringing a moderately-low caramel malt flavor with some sweetness. The balance is fairly bitter and the finish is off-dry. The aftertaste is of citrus hops, hops bitterness and cinnamon. The bitterness has a slightly harsh edge but it's not bugging me.

M: A medium-full bodied beer with a moderate level of carbonation and a some alcohol warmth.

O: A big flavorful bitter beer with a great blend of competing elements that resolves nicely.

On tap at the brewery. It was served in a snifter with a nice 2 finger head. You can pick up bourbon, citrus, and perhaps vanilla on the first sniff. It smelled fantastic and tasted even better. It was very bitter when it was cold but as the beer warmed up it evened out nicely. I could pick up a nice, but pungent citrus taste at first. Then as it warmed I could pick up some vanilla, oak and some sort of buttery taste. I would look for this beer and get it again in a heartbeat.